Yesterday I gave you my list of my ten favorite games I attended in Sanford Stadium. Today, you get my favorite games away from Athens. As I went over the choices, I realized I’m a pretty lucky guy, because I’ve seen some great, great games (some examples of games I left off my list: 2002 and 2005 SECCGs, 2003 Georgia-Clemson).

Anyway, here’s what I’ve got, again in chronological order:

1980: Georgia 26 Florida 21. Is there anything I really need to say about this game that hasn’t been said a thousand times before?

A lot of bourbon got wasted on that play.

1981: Georgia 17 Notre Dame 10. National title, dude. I sat in the end zone behind the Notre Dame players who botched the kickoff that led to one of Georgia’s score. Back in the day when you could rush the field after the game.

1982: Georgia 19 Auburn 14. Gawd, what an accumulation of running back talent. Again, sat in the end zone where they broke it up in front of me. I think that’s the last time I walked on an opponent’s field after a road win.

1985: Georgia 24 Florida 3. No, there wasn’t as much on the line as the 1980 game, but I love this game just as much, if for no other reason than Florida reached number one in the polls for the first time in school history that week, only to get smoked by the Georgia running game and Muddy Waters. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that it was the most inebriated I’ve ever been at a Cocktail Party game.

1997: Georgia 37 Florida 17. First blood, baby. When Robert Edwards broke the corner and scored to put the Dawgs up comfortably, it was the closest I’ve ever come to passing out at a Georgia football game from sheer joy. Edwards was the man that day. Spurrier swapping quarterbacks throughout the game was priceless. (Too bad the Dawgs came back to Athens the next week and screwed the pooch against Auburn.)

1997: Georgia 27 Georgia Tech 24. The only thing better than snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against the Jackets is snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against the Jackets with a disputed penalty call. Boy, were there some pissed off Tech fans after that one.

2002: Georgia 24 Auburn 21. I was cold. Then this happened…

… and I wasn’t cold anymore.

2009: Georgia 30 Georgia Tech 24. We run this state. The game that started Paul Johnson’s denial of the importance of the series. Oh, and nice drop, BeBe.

2012: Alabama 32 Georgia 28. It broke my heart, but it’s still one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen. I’ve never been prouder of the effort given by a Georgia team.

Oh, and the idiot woman sitting next to me who left before the interception call was overturned? You’re still an idiot.

2013: Georgia 41 Georgia Tech 34. Trust me, it never gets old. Especially when Tech finds a way to blow a 20-0 lead. And it’s the only time I’ve walked out of BDS after a Georgia win without being abused by a single Tech fan.

48 responses to “Outside the hedges: 10 favorites”

That ’02 Auburn game lead to the best, and most tense, Thanksgiving I ever experienced with the now ex-wife’s family. I was repeatedly reminded that I was NOT to bring up the game, as half of her family are all Barner fans. Didn’t stop me from showing up in red and black, and later being told several times what a jerk I was/am. Ah, memories…

1) Georgia 20, Auburn 16 – 1986 – Between the Hoses – It was the first away game I went to as a student. The season was nothing special, but ruining Auburn’s season never gets old.
2) Georgia 23, Florida 10 – 1987 – My 1st WLOCP – I don’t remember much of the game. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I never thought I was at the end of the Georgia dominance of the series.
3) Georgia 34, Michigan State 27 – 1988 (1/1/89) – We were never in danger of losing, but the game was never really over either. Worley & Hampton were great, but Andre Rison was a one-man wrecking crew of our defense.
4) Georgia 14, Auburn 10 – 1992 – My wife and I got home from our honeymoon that morning, had a message from a friend that they had 2 extras, and headed to Auburn. I’ve never been more scared leaving a stadium than that night.
5) Florida 33, Georgia 26 – 1993 – Similar to the Senator’s 2012 SEC title game, I left the Gator Bowl proud of a team that never quit. The game that cemented Zeier’s legacy as a DGD.
6) Georgia 37, Florida 17 – 1997 – I think I floated out of the Gator Bowl that night. When Olandis Gary scored the last TD, I remember the crowd started chanting “Go for 2, go for 2.” Donnan would have endeared himself to the Bulldog Nation if he had done it.
7) Georgia 33, Wisconsin 6 – 1997 (1/1/98) – The Georgia defense stuffed Ron Dayne and the vaunted Wisky running game, and Bobo, Edwards, and Ward just ripped Wisconsin. Barry Alvarez had no answer. Back into the top 10.
8) Georgia 26, Florida St. 13 – 2002 (1/1/03) – I waited 20 years for a New Year’s trip to New Orleans, and the Dawgs didn’t disappoint. I still say that team would have destroyed Ohio St. and probably would have beaten Miami.

1976 Florida game: Down 14 at the half. James Brown rocks the house in the halftime show, Dogs come out on fire, 4th and dumb lives forever. Dogs win by 14, SEC championship secured the next week versus Auburn.

I wasn’t there in person, but watching the 71 Tech game on tv on Thanksgiving night, when Andy Johnson and Jimmy Poulos drove the field with about a minute left and no time outs for the go ahead score was pretty awesome, too.

2002 Auburn: Couldn’t scalp a ticket, so I watched it at an AUB bar.
2003 Clemson: 30-0 and I loved every bit of it. The stadium was great, too.
2003 Tennessee: Whipping UT on K-town is always special.
2004 Cocktail Party: Catharsis
2005 SEC title game: Sean Bailey to the rescue
2006 Auburn: 30-7 at halftime on the road against a 7th ranked Barn.
2007 Cocktail Party: UGA finally fought back
2008 Sugar Bowl: A complete destruction
2010 Colorado: Terrible finish, but the atmosphere was great.
2012 SEC title game: I had field passes and it was the best sporting event I’ve ever attended. I was gutted for 9+ months after that game.

Thanks a lot Senator. Now I will have to spend two nights in a row staying up past midnight watching all of the replays you posted. Really enjoyed that 2004 LUS game with SOD and Boom on the sidelines with Saban. Great lists.

Hard to argue with any of your choices. I would add 2007 Georgia-Florida to my list. I was in the fourth row of the celebration endzone. The next day I was on the front page of the Jacksonville paper celebrating with two of the players. The experience can’t be topped.

Confession: I was the idiot guy who left before the interception was overturned. I thought I had a good view of it an no way was it going to be reversed. I hang my head in shame. Had the game been UGA’s, I would of had my own Grizzard moment of leaving before the Lindsay Scott play. As it was, I saw the final play through the window of the World Congress Center. Still didn’t help me feel any better for bolting early. Life lesson I guess.

On a separate note, an Auburn friend of mine was convinced that Michael Johnson was going to be a top tier NFL receiver after the way that guy abused Auburn over the years.

Oh and I’d add the beat down of Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. Nothing against Hawaii, but the jackass Yankee in front of us was such an ass, I really enjoyed every hit and every point since it obviously annoyed him so much.

Some great picks on that list, hard to argue any of those mentioned, but I was surprised no one picked the 2002 game in Tusky. Most of us will always remember it for the most amazing October heat we had all experienced but lost in that was a really good SEC football game with some to and fro involved before the Dawgs put it away.

I’m with you Mac, see below. Dayum it was hot! Lost my buzz by kickoff sweating it out. Went with all Bammer fans/students but they were surprisingly great. They were giving me hell tho when Brody Crole leaped over the pile for the go-ahead score at that point. I’m still not sure he broke the plain…but Billy Bennett made everything alright later on anyway..

Stafford gutting the Tide in OT..,,CrimeNoles being dominated in New Orleans….JoeT telegraphing a fake punt in Tiger Stadium (first real ST breakdown of many to come in Richts career) – great game, Dawgs should have won!

I’ll add one. Only time I’ve been to Tiguh Stayed Yum. Willie vs. Alexander the Great. We had no chance at night in “Death Valley” and then, 2nd half, Conway kicks off for LSU and Lindsay goes 99. It was ”The Dawgs” night after that.

Loved the 1996 UGA-Auburn game. Think it was Donnan’s 1st year and it didn’t mean anything in the national picture, but a last second grab by Corey Allen and then 4 overtimes…just awesome. Also the 1998?? GA/LSU game, when Qunicy Carter was something like 24 for 27 and LSU was number 3 in the country. 2007 GA/FL game when the team rushed the field on the 1st score–greatest thing that I’ve ever seen in person. I didn’t quit smiling for a week.

1976 41-27 on Florida@Jax, Down 14 then 4th & dumb happened
1978 24-17 @LSU, Down 10 then the second half kickoff happened
1978 17-16 @Kentucky, Down 16 then McClendon, then Rex Robinson
1980 16-15 @Tennessee, Down 13 then our backup tailback took over
1980 31-21 @Auburn, Down 7 with a UF hangover then a punt was blocked
1981 26-21 on Florida@Jax, Down 6 then we found our back can catch too
1983 10-9 on Florida@Jax, Down 6 then 99 yards happened

No, there wasn’t as much on the line as the 1980 game, but I love this game just as much, if for no other reason than Florida reached number one in the polls for the first time in school history that week, only to get smoked by the Georgia running game and Muddy Waters.

Agree. One of my favorite Jacksonville experiences, too. FOUR WHOLE DAYS …..
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1989: Georgia 17 Florida 10–my first Cocktail Party and I was only 11 years old. We did not go to the Landing and such, but I could just tell that game had a different feel to it than any other game UGA plays.

1993: Georgia 43 Georgia Tech 10–seeing the 10-10 halftime tie turn into a 33 point second half was magical. And then they were so mad that the brawl at the end when we went for 2 was just the cat’s pajamas. I cannot believe this game has not found its way to Youtube yet. To me, this is only second to 51-7 in the DawgPorn Tech subgenre.

2001: Georgia 26 Tennessee 24–what is left to say about this? I am not sure I have ever heard an opposing stadium get as loud so quick on one play as it did on that screen for UTK’s last TD. The best was seeing Kelley Washington down on the strip that night and hearing him making fun of and calling out the punter (one of the Colquitt boys) saying to us “he’s the reason ya’ll won the game.” Yeah, that was it Kelley.

2001: Georgia 31 Georgia Tech 17–this was a day fueled by anarchy on the Flats. Everybody was sick of losing to Tech and we went down there with no respect for anything. Sure, I am not proud of some of the things I did that night, but oh well, it’s Tech so who cares, right?

2002: Georgia 24 Auburn 21: What else to say about this one too? The moment Greene let the ball to go to Johnson, I felt something in my chest pop/burst. Seriously, I think I was on the verge of going into cardiac arrest. You just knew so much hung on that one play. When he caught it, there were bodies everywhere down in that opposite endzone student section. Pretty sure I shed a few tears as well. What a cathartic win.

2003: LSU 17 Georgia 10: My first and only trip to Red Stick. Similar to Sen’s SECCG Bama game. This to me was the definition of what SEC Football is all about and neither team deserved to lose, we just happened to come up a bit short. Those were some feisty people that day down there.

2003: Georgia 41 Tennessee 14: this has to be one of the most thorough humiliations of a quality opponent in the Richt era. Seeing that stadium empty early in the 4th quarter was a sight.

2006: Georgia 37 Auburn 15: No chance in hell of winning. We went just hoping we would be in it. And Auburn could not get out of it’s own way. Tra was the man that day.

2007: Georgia 42 Florida 30: I cannot add much more here either. I was sore for 4 days afterwards though as somehow I was so into the game that I ended up using a bunch of muscles I never knew I had. it’s a miracle those temporary seats were still standing after the game.

2009: Georgia 30 Georgia Tech 24: Can you tell I hate them? They had this one in their back pocket and they just knew it. You would think this game would have been enough to tone down the similarly smug arrogance we saw once again this past November down there, but I guess when your fan base was mostly in their home country when the ’09 game was played, then you may not have the same appreciation for history that others do.

Went to the Man Enough game at Bammer in ’02 w Bammer alum & sat in student section – awesomesauce.
Went to OT game in Tampa – Outback Bowl 2000 vs Brees & Purdue. Came from ah-way back.
Cox put on a show in ’09 in Fayetville too, not so bad. Cool little town, that Fayetville.

I made money growing up by walking the ailes of Jordan-Hare stadium, selling peanuts and drinks to the prettiest little mouth-breathers on the plains. So…
2006: Georgia 37 Auburn 15
This was actually the first time I saw UGA play in person and cemented my fanship forever. Auburn was ranked 5th. Poor little Georgia was unranked and starting a freshman at qb named Matt Stafford? Tra Battle had like 17 interceptions- 8 or 9 of which were pick sixes. The Redcoats even came to whip ass. As Auburn’s band walks around their stadium playing “glory”, some brilliant band leader decided to call up UGA’s “glory” louder and quite a bit faster as soon as Auburn’s band got in front of the Georgia section. The Auburn band absolutely fell apart and had to simply stop and walk the rest of the way back to their side of the stadium. I will never forget that.

LSU at night 1998. Quincy Carter’s brief shining moment. We stayed in our seats for a good hour after the game to avoid getting corndogged to death in the parking lot. Grown men were crying on the radio call-in show. Good times.

I must have been seated near you in the end zone at the 81 Sugar Bowl. We just walked down to the sideline with 30 seconds on the clock. Come to think of it, I’ve always had a good time on the road in Loosy-anna.

Here’s my list for the top 10 away from Athens. This may or may not come out in chronological order:

1997 Cocktail Party – I will start here though. My first Cocktail Party, as a 10 year old. Only my 2nd or 3rd road game, period (may have even been my first). At the end of the game, I got the “It’s Great To Be A Georgia Bulldog” chant started in my section, which eventually spread to all 40 plus thousand in red and black. So surreal to me at the time.

2002 Carolina – We were 3 rows from the top, and never got down to the concourse during the weather delay. I didn’t know what evil I had done to deserve to die in Williams-Brice. Oh, and some guy named Pollack made a pretty good play.

2002 SECCG – First SEC title of my lifetime. I didn’t quite have a grasp on what it meant to the older Bulldog fans at the time, but I think the relief was greater than it would have been if Murray had found Mitchell to beat Bama 10 years later. There may have been more joy in 2012, but there was more relief in 2002.

2005 UT – First trip to Rocky Flop. It felt great when Flowers and Brown finally shut that damn band up.

2005 SECCG – Not many can say the Dawgs won and SECCG during their freshman year. Of course, it led to national title aspirations that never came to pass while I was a student. Oh well

2008 Carolina – Definitely more memorable for the circumstances around the game than the game itself (though it’s up there with 2003 Clemson as the hottest I’ve attended). About 15 of us went to stay with some friends in Columbia, and it always is awesome when you get hospitality AND a win.

2008 Florida – Again, more memorable for the circumstances, and I think even would have been if we had won. This was the only road trip I took with friends to the WLOCP as a student, and we didn’t even stay in St. Simons, we stayed in Jax. But it was awesome…including getting alcohol from a liquor store operating out of the back of a strip club.

2012 SECCG – Best game I’ve ever seen in person. We just ran out of time.

2006 CFA Bowl – This may be the biggest comeback I’ve witnessed in person (wasn’t at the Drew Brees Purdue game). I got student tickets with a couple of my fraternity brothers (and one of their little brothers), and we were sitting right next to the band. I couldn’t hear right for a couple days.

There are so many I could pick for the 10th, but I think I’ll go with this:

2004 WLOCP- Always good to beat Florida, and it felt better after they ruined our season the previous 2 weeks. But like Senator said about 1997, blew it vs. Auburn (granted, we don’t get in the national title game since they didn’t, but I’m still not convinced they were the better team. I think we win 7 or 8 on a neutral field. But that game was up there with the most electric road atmosphere I’ve been in, along with 2012 Carolina.)

1994 @ SCAR – First game as an undergrad. “If Goff doesn’t beat the poultry, it’s back to Moultrie”. Gritty SEC road win.
1994 @ AU – Dawgs “win” 23-23 & stop AU’s win streak.
1996 @ AU – 4 OT, Bobo off the bench with a gutty comeback.
1997 in Jax – Pandemonium. I had the exact same reaction when #47 turned the corner & was off to the races to put the game away.
1997 @ Tech – Great rally, what a catch by Corey Allen.
1998 Peach Bowl vs. UVA – another great comeback that we almost gave away.
2002 @ Bama – It may have been 140 degrees, but we were Man Enough. Almost caught the ball Billy Bennett banged through the uprights to win the game.
2002 SECCG – The crescendo and noise explosion on the UGA blocked punt was unreal. From there, there was no denying us.
2003 Sugar Bowl – Underrated game, was great to experience NOLA.
2003 @ UT – Never heard our away game crowd take over a stadium like they did after Sean Jones rumbled 98 yards with that fumble return.
2006 @ AU – Out of nowhere ambush of the #5 team who no doubt was not ready to play on the ol’ JP 12:30 kickoff.
2007 @ Bama – Tense game with a great call to go for the win in OT after Bama went up 3 in.
2010 @ UK – 3 bourbon distillery tours got the day off to a great start & then got to watch Washaun Ealey’s 15 minutes of fame.
2011 @ Ole Miss – Sentimental vote – a great guys’ weekend in Memphis & Oxford with a workmanlike win led by our D.

Bloviation for the Dawgnation

Quote Of The Day

“It brings back a great Bulldog running back in Thomas who has NFL playing experience and has had success as a college coach at multiple schools. He also inherits a position that has been built to an elite level by Bryan. And it gives Bryan the opportunity to return to coaching the position he played and the one where he cut his teeth serving as a graduate assistant under wide receiver coach John Eason here at UGA. It also provides him with a new experience as a passing game coordinator.” -- Mark Richt, AB-H, 2/16/15